Chnoubis Vignettes
by Black Knight 03
Summary: Vignettes about the events in the lives of Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass. AU after HBP. HPDG Originally, just titled Conspiracy.
1. Conspiracy

Disclaimer – J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.

A/N – My second entry for 31 October Days Community on LiveJournal. Thanks to my beta, Thoth and Jagged Epiphany for their help.

A/N 2 – I've been debating for a few months now on how to post To Choose, a follow up to Conspiracy. Because there is no Harry/Daphne section and a few readers have this under story alerts, I've decided to just post them together under the name of _Chnoubis_ _Vignettes_. This will be a series of Harry/Daphne one-shots that I write from time to time that exist in the same universe. Also, by making them vignettes, I can jump back and forth in the timeline. According to About(dot)com, "Chnoubis is an egyptian Gnostic solar icon, found most often on gnostic gems, and amulets for protection against poison and disease. It is a composite figure with the head of a lion and the body of a serpent, usually with seven rays emanating from the head, sometimes, with the twelve zodiacal signs." I kind of that something made up of a lion and serpent was a fitting title for these Vignettes.

Story 1 - Conspiracy

As the sun was setting outside, Daphne Greengrass stood in front of a full-length mirror, checking over her appearance one last time. _"How do Muggles stand these things,"_ she thought, while shifting her hips in a tight pair of what her mother had said were called jeans. A small smirk crossed her lips as she continued checking her appearance, _"But they do make me look cute."_

Finally satisfied with her appearance, she walked over to her desk. Lying on the desk was her wand and a Wizard pocket watch. She concealed her wand in a special holder attached to the small of her back and, after checking the watch to see it worked properly, slid it into one of her front pockets.

Turning her right wrist, she absent mindedly inspected a charm bracelet that doubled as an emergency Portkey. Her father was taking a huge gamble, one that the entire family felt needed to be taken.

While not all of the traditional Slytherin families had become Death Eaters, many like the Greengrasses had been pressured to finance and support Voldemort's cause whether they wanted to or not. It was suggested that it was in their best interest to do so, but Mr. Greengrass saw it as what it was; blackmail. Unfortunately, seeing no other way, he paid.

Since Lord Voldemort's rebirth, Mr. Greengrass had been growing uneasy. Not just because he was forced to pay again, or that the payments were higher, but rather at Lord Voldemort's erratic behavior. Especially following the failure at the Ministry. Her father had said that he was becoming more of a madman than a misguided idealist with his sole focus turning to killing the Boy Who Lived, than his agenda of fixing the world.

Mr. Greengrass knew that the time was coming where he couldn't simply pay to stay quietly on the sidelines, and that his family was in danger. Conspiring with a small number of moderate old blood families, such as the Zabinis, they quickly came to an agreement that Voldemort needed to be dealt with. The problem was how. Dumbledore was dead and no one knew where exactly Harry Potter was during the summer.

With time of the essence, the Conspirators carefully followed the cookie trail to roughly where the boy was. That very morning, Mr. Greengrass, on behalf of his group, sent a mail owl to find Harry and deliver a message, a request to meet their envoy.

That envoy was determined to be Daphne. It was felt that as an attractive girl, close in age to Harry, less suspicious, and almost no history between the two, Daphne had the best chance at getting Harry to at least listen for a few minutes.

Daphne looked up from her wrist at the knock on her door. "Father."

"Daphne," he said as he walked towards her. Standing in front of her, "Be careful. If there's any sign of trouble, get out."

Sticking her chin up at him defiantly, "I'm not going to fail."

Mr. Greengrass grinned at his daughter and handed her what looked like a small, smooth pebble. "One way Portkey. Use the bracelet to return." Nodding in understanding, Mr. Greengrass pulled out his own Wizard pocket watch and watched as the second hand completed its revolution and at the same time, with no noise, Daphne disappeared.

Seconds later, Daphne reappeared in a small cropping of trees in a neighborhood playground. Since it was almost dark, the playground was deserted. Pulling the watch from her pocket, she checked the time. _"Ten minutes."_

Hiding in the shadows, Daphne began trying to anticipate Harry's reactions. She knew he was going to doubt the sincerity of it simply because she was Slytherin. Turning the tables, she would do the same simply because he was a Gryffindor.

Beyond that, it was also because she was from and represented some of the old blood families. First thing she needed to do was make him understand that while the hands of traditional families may be dirty, they weren't all his enemy.

That was going to be difficult. From what she had learned and already knew, Harry and the old guard didn't mix well. It was a problem she would have to overcome, and quickly. Daphne couldn't afford to lose much time.

As she stepped back farther into the shadows as a group of teenagers were passing, Daphne went over her plan in her head. She was going to have to be straight forward and lay most of her cards on the table. Since Harry hadn't grown up in the Wizarding World, he hadn't learned that most things were done by manipulation. If one was manipulating you, it was expected of you to try and maneuver things to benefit you. But if Harry felt that way, all bets would be off. One had to look no further then his clashes with the Ministry.

Daphne was also going to have to take his friends into account. She didn't like them, and honestly felt they were holding Harry back, but they couldn't be cut out if they wanted to work with Harry. Harry relied heavily on his friends, and in her opinion, too much. _"Especially the Kneazle,"_ she thought a little jealously. She then sighed at catching herself calling Hermione that stupid nickname Pansy had come up with in third year. _"Insulting his best friend isn't exactly the best way to get Harry to work with us."_

Pacing a little, but making sure to remain in the shadows, she started role playing any scenario she could think of to how Harry could react to anything that happened tonight and how to best counteract it. It was unsettling, much less against her nature, for her to be so open about everything and there were things she just didn't know how to approach.

_"Five minutes."_

As she put the watch away with one hand, she ran a hand through her light brown hair with the other. Pushing the scenarios out of her mind, she started thinking about a more personal part of the plan. While the old blood families had decided to work together on this, having a common goal didn't mean the individual families gave up their own agendas. For the Greengrasses, it was how to improve their standing post-war. Like chess, you made your current move with your next two or three in mind.

After the war, even with them on the winning side, life would be difficult. Anyone with hints of dark ties, such as many of the old blood families, would be suspected at every turn. Mr. Greengrass saw an opportunity to, at the very least, improve his daughter's situation through a more permanent alliance with the Chosen One.

Even if he wasn't full blooded, Harry was still an ideal candidate for his Daphne. The remaining member of the Potter line, an impressive family line on its own, and the sole heir to one of the most powerful old blood families in the Blacks provided an impressive lineage. Not to mention with the combined wealth and investments of the Potter and Black families, the couple wouldn't have to worry about money. There were countless testaments to Harry being a powerful wizard, and he hadn't even reached adulthood. Combined with what the Greengrasses could bring to the table, the two could be a very powerful couple in the future.

Daphne herself was indifferent to the idea. While Harry wasn't physically one of her top choices, he was powerful, rich, and a decent man. She could do a lot worse, _"Like Pansy and the Ferret"_. The concept of love wasn't anywhere near the thoughts of the Greengrasses. Many marriages in the Wizarding World weren't about love but rather about partnerships, especially in the high class and old blood families.

A married couple were expected to consummate the marriage, providing at least one heir and then, it was not uncommon, but not spoken of, if the two found pleasure outside of the marriage. _"After we make a little Potter, he can go snog Little Weasley or Granger… even both if he wanted."_

This explanation covered almost every couple Daphne had been ever exposed to, and it was what she expected in her own marriage. Even still, Daphne wondered if this was what she wanted. She would do as her father wished, get as close as possible to Harry. If she could make it happen, she would marry him, but could she learn to love him? It was an unsettling question that she tried not to spend too much time on.

Her musings were interrupted by a loud voice that she recognized as Ron Weasley. She could also hear another voice, a little softer, telling the other to quiet down.

"I don't like this," Daphne overheard Ron say. "It's a setup."

"We don't know that," Harry answered back, "Besides, I'm not rushing into anything anymore. Just calm down and keep your eyes open."

_"How the hell did they sneak around Hogwarts when they make such a racket,"_ Daphne thought to herself.

"So we're here," Ron said to Harry, his voice lowering. "Now what?"

"We wait I guess," Harry told him. "See anything?"

"Why can't they ever have these little meetings during the day?" Ron wondered out loud.

Not being able to resist the urge to answer, Daphne called out from the shadows, "It's harder to hide in."

She smirked as she watched Ron jump in surprise and draw his wand, waving it around as he tried to find her. Adding to her amusement, Harry drew his wand as well but was much closer to where she was standing than his friend.

"Show yourself," Harry commanded.

Drawing her own wand in to her hand, but keeping it pointed down, she emerged from the shadows. "Potter."

"Who-" Ron started to ask.

"Daphne Greengrass," Harry said evenly in greeting, and also to answer Ron's question.

"You said you weren't going to rush into anything," Daphne teased, "Yet, here you are, with only Weasley, and thrashing about." Trying to ignore the facts that Ron had trained his wand on her, and while Harry's wasn't pointed at her, it was ready to strike, she continued. "Now why don't you put your wands away?"

"You first," Ron snarled back.

But Daphne ignored him and was watching Harry, and grew slightly nervous when a grin slowly tugged at his lips. "Appearances can be deceiving."

_"What?"_ she thought and then she realized what he meant when she felt something very familiar poke her in the back. _"Ah…Granger."_

"Anyone else around?" Harry seemed to ask to nothing.

Hearing a rustling behind her, Daphne glanced behind her to watched Hermione's head suddenly appear out of nowhere. _"An invisibility cloak!_ _Of course."_

"She's the only one in the park," Hermione answered as she took Daphne's wand from her hand.

_"He's smarter than I gave him credit for."_ Daphne let Hermione take her wand; while she could fight off Granger and probably Weasley, Harry easily out-classed her.

"Well," Daphne said looking directly at Harry, "Now that introductions are out of the way… Let's talk."


	2. To Choose

Disclaimer – J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter

A/N – This story is set roughly two years after Conspiracy. I never really intended to write a follow up to Conspiracy, but with the reviews I got, and then stumbling across this prompt for thematichp on LJ, my muse had other ideas. Thanks to Thoth and csitokyo3 for their help.

Prompt - To choose

Story 2 – To Choose

Harry slowly swirled the amber liquid in his glass, watching it slosh against the sides, before taking a large gulp. Gritting his teeth as the liquid burned down his throat, he let his eyes flicker around the crowd before him. Saying he wasn't happy was putting it mildly.

In the almost year since the defeat of Voldermort, Harry had slowly been learning what it was like to lead a normal life. While there was still a danger, not everyone had been held accountable for their actions; he didn't feel like he was under lock and key anymore. He now had the freedom to make his own decisions and live his life, for the most part, how he wanted to.

But that had changed when he received a letter from Gringotts Bank. The remaining challenges to his placement as the Head of the Black Family had been either dismissed or withdrawn. His path to be installed as the Head of House was clear, save one important detail.

There was an old provision concerning the Head of House, set in to the family laws many generations ago, stating that the Head of House needed to be at least betrothed, if not married, by the time he took the position. It was an insurance policy to preserve the line and to make sure heirs were created, back in a time when life expectancy wasn't the best, even for a witch or wizard.

Four windows had had to be replaced after Harry finished the letter.

He could, of course, change the rule, but to do so he needed to first become Head of House. Aside from his disgust at the idea in general, his sense of right and wrong, made it difficult for him to even consider simply marrying someone to allow him to take the position, and once he had made the changes, divorce the woman. It was too close to how he had felt he had been treated for so long. _Working with them was one thing, but marrying one of those… inbreed twits._

After a meeting with the Gringotts' solicitors, Harry learned that there was more to the provision than just saying he needed to be engaged. A group called the Family Elders, consisting of the most prominent members of the main family line, would decide who Harry could be married to. With the family's recent history, the Family Elders were to be Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy. At the very least, Harry would have an ally in Andromeda, but Narcissa was still an enigma.

Further complicating matters was the provision that laid out the criteria of what the prospective Mrs. Potter had to have for the Family Elders to even consider her. Then, even if she met the requirements, Narcissa and Andromeda still had to give their blessing.

Replaying the matters over in his head, Harry tried to ignore the people around him; a small gathering of the prominent old blood families hosted by the Malfoys. It was as much about getting Harry introduced to the potential mates, as it was improving the Malfoys' - and by extension the Blacks' - family standing following the war. Harry often wondered how many old blood family lines he may have ended if it hadn't been for Daphne.

Torn from his thoughts, Harry knew who was sidling up to him before they had even said a word. She had been playing the perfect hostess all night; mingling with the guests, ordering the elves around to best serve everybody, and whatever else it was she did. "Mr. Potter," Narcissa started in the soft, but deadly whisper of hers. "It would be wise of you to not waste your time sticking to the walls like some Flobberworm."

"And do what, _Auntie_?" Harry muttered, "Shall I go chat up the Hag to the left of us, or the bint to the right of us who looks like she had a run in with a door… and the door won." After taking another drink from his glass, "Or I can piss Draco off, which is always a plus, and chat up the Parkinson cow. You know, the lovely little girl who wanted to hand me over to Voldemort." Harry snickered to himself as he remembered that immediately after Pansy had screeched that across the Great Hall, Daphne, with wand drawn, had told Pansy she'd hex her head off if she didn't sit down and shut up.

Biting her tongue and forcing herself not to jerk at the sound of Voldemort's name, Narcissa forced a pleasant smile on her face, but her tone of voice showed her true feelings. "Stop being such a spoiled brat. I am not here to fight you, Potter, but I will not let you disrespect my noble house." Harry snorted in response. Narcissa overlooked the noise and continued, "There are certain rules you have to accept until you are in power to make those changes. You will do well to remember your place. I can do this with or without your consent. Even if you have my dear eldest sister put someone up, it's only two people. I can drag this out for a long time, tying you down for decades to come."

Harry slowly turned towards Narcissa, ready to have it out, but Andromeda appeared out of nowhere and stopped the scene from happening. "What are you two doing over here?" she asked politely, but really meant, what's the problem this time?

"Just having a nice chat about where the future Lord Black's priorities should be at the moment," Narcissa said, with a mirroring, fake, and polite smile. "Given his current situation and all."

Andromeda nodded. "I see," she said, not appearing to show interest. "Well, I do hate to interrupt, but your House Elves need your permission to go into the Manor's wine cellar for a few more bottles. Apparently your guests are quite enjoying themselves."

Narcissa nodded, and after a brief glance at Harry, swept away. With a soft sigh, Andromeda regarded Harry. "I can only run interference so much. At the very least, please look like you are mingling."

"But look at who she invited," Harry grumbled, with more of a whine then he necessarily intended. "Half the wizards in here should be dragged in for questioning. If they didn't do something, they know someone who did."

"Harry," Andromeda snapped at him. "I know, but there's nothing you can gain by going around and accusing them of anything. You know what you should be focused on at the moment, so I need not remind you. For now, please stop antagonizing Cissy. When this is all over, you can continue on and choose to ignore the entire Malfoy family if you wish. But for now, it's easier for you in the long run to work with her, not against her."

Muttering a few choice words, Harry left the sanctuary of the wall and slowly picked his way around the crowd. He was trying to avoid people while still giving the impression he was mingling.

Andromeda simply sighed again as she watched him. _So much on such young shoulders._

As he moved, from across the room, a pair of brown eyes trailed Harry's movements as he weaved his way through the crowd. Hiding a smile behind a crystal goblet, she watched him finally get cornered by Thomas Niles and his daughter. The young woman knew that by cornering him like they had, it had only really succeeded in annoying him further. _He doesn't want these little girls fawning over him, much less their pompous fathers, and their over- exaggerations of self. _

She had been enjoying watching the competition, if she could truly call them that, fail at each attempt. They would come swaggering up, boast about themselves, and then leave empty handed as Harry brushed them off.

"Daphne," a deep baritone voice spoke behind her, "It's not wise to openly enjoy the failures of others."

"But it is… rather comical," Daphne murmured to her father. "A complete lack of understanding of even the basics of the prey."

"An understanding that you possess?" Mr. Greengrass asked rhetorically, with a hint of sarcasm. He knew that Harry and his daughter had grown close from working together in the final years of the Second War. Also, unlike the other fathers, he knew what his daughter was capable of, and tried to stay hands off, confident of the outcome.

"Perhaps," Daphne answered simply. Fighting, working, and studying alongside Harry for two years, the two had grown past the old prejudices of their Houses and formed a loose friendship. Carefully ingratiating herself into his inner circle, she had slowly earned his trust and, at the least, lost the suspicions of his close friends. The only person he talked to more about serious matters was Hermione, someone she had quickly learned she need to try and work with, not against. In fact, while not openly flaunted about, the two women were instrumental in creating a third faction joining the alliance between the Order and Old Families, a Harry-led D.A..

When Harry had informed them of the Gringotts letter, she had immediately seen the opening she had waited so patiently for. The next objective, as it were. The chance to align her family with the Blacks and Potters through marriage. One that would elevate her family's prestige and power, two goals that any old blood family wished for. The problem was, she had imagined something like a traditional arranged marriage, an alliance for some kind of mutual benefit. This marriage would elevate the Greengrass' standing, elevate Harry as Head of the House of Black, and both would have access to a vast fortune between the three families. What she was faced with was wanting a marriage to someone she had become attracted to and wanted to have a relationship with.

This had gone from just business to something more personal. She would use what she had learned in the past two years to not be the next Lady Black, but the future Mrs. Harry Potter.

Daphne watched as the introduction of a competing father with his daughter was used by Harry as a excuse for him to slip away. As he quickly made to exit the room, Daphne moved to followed.

Reaching the hallway that branched out from the Malfoys' dining room, she heard the soft click of a door being shut. With a small grin, she walked to the door and reached out to take the knob. Suddenly remembering the times Harry had been startled, she drew her hand back for a moment, before reaching up and knocking. As the door opened to reveal Harry, Daphne arched her manicured eyebrows, "If only Voldemort knew that it took a group of little girls to run off the annoying Harry Potter, things may have turned out differently."

He sighed and narrowed his eyes at the petite brunette. "Is there something you wanted, or did you simply come by to break my stones?"

"Someone has to." Smiling sweetly at him, she brushed past him and into the room. Ever since that first meeting in the park, the two hardly had a conversation without a few sarcastic comments tossed back and forth. At first they had been slightly derogatory, challenging, testing each other's boundaries. Then, the more the two worked together, the comments increased but started to lose their sting, they were more teasing than trying to jockey for position. It was how you said it, not what you said. In fact, recently, they had even taken on a more flirty nature.

Harry sighed and shut the door, taking the time to perform a complex locking charm on it afterwards. Turning around, Harry watched Daphne practically saunter over to a lounger near the fireplace. Watching her sit down, Harry felt something stir inside him as he found the position she took to be very flattering to her body. While his body reacted, his mind did too; Daphne had taught him well. "Playing games?"

"Only when I know I will win," she said softly, and leaned over with her arms crossed over her legs.

Before he could control himself, Harry's eyes naturally went to the view of her bust line. Trying to cover, he glanced around the room, looking at everything around them and purposely keep his eyes away from her. "I see."

Daphne's smile widened. "I bet you do," she said sarcastically, and laughed when Harry quickly looked down at the ground and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Even though he had become more confident in himself, she still knew there were ways to bring back that shy little boy. An endearing quality that she liked about him, though would never admit it out right.

"So is this when you make your pitch?" Harry asked her, while wandering over to a bookshelf and pretending to inspect the books upon it.

Chuckling softly, she was impressed that Harry had not only remembered, but put to good use, the things she tried to pass on to him. "I don't need one. We both know how this will play out."

Looking back at her, "And how's that?"

"I win," she told him smugly. "I always win." Standing, she slowly walked towards him. "I'm a young witch from a relatively old Pure-blood family, for what it's worth. More importantly, I know what you need."

As she came to a stop a few inches from him, Harry straightened up and looked down at her. "What?"

"An equal," Daphne told him. "Not some… mindless drone, giggling fangirl idiot, or gold digging wench," she said disdainfully, adding a small wave of her hand towards the door. "It's why you get along better with Hermione than say ... Lavender. You need someone to play off, not just play with," she finished with a small smile.

"Why not both?" Harry suggested and gave her his own smirk when Daphne gave a brief look of surprise. "You have taught me well. I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before you made a move."

"How were you so sure I'd-"

"Remember the night we came back from recovering Hufflepuff's Cup? Neither of us could sleep and we dueled in the Room of Requirement." Harry then leaned into her and huskily whispered into her ear, "You talk in your sleep." Harry laughed when for the first time that he knew of, an embarrassed blush crept over Daphne's face. _The hunter finds out that all along, she was the hunted._

Regaining her composure, and trying to save a little bit of face, Daphne looked up at him defiantly, almost as if daring him to say something else. _I can't believe I didn't see him reeling me in._

"So, what now? Go back and tell everyone I won?" _And show those little tots that he is mine._

"Eventually," Harry murmured. "But let my _Auntie_ stew a little." Gently, Harry slipped his hands along Daphne's hips. "Right now… I have a few ideas of what we can do."

"Oh?" Daphne asked as she placed her hands on his shoulders and kneaded them firmly. "And what might they be?"

"I think you can figure them out," he said with a wide grin forming on his face, "with a bit of prodding, of course."

"Of course," Daphne said softly, with a matching grin. "I guess all you noble Gryffindor heroes really do fall for the _bad_ girl."

Harry snickered softly, and slipped his arms from her hips to around her waist as she pressed up against him. "I choose to think I fell for a highly independent, intelligent, secure, young woman."

Titling her head slightly, she regarded him with a slight chuckle. "Harry, stop thinking. You've made a choice, now live with it," Daphne said sarcastically. Having enough of talking, she nudged his nose with her own and tilted her head to finally capture his lips in a kiss.


	3. Guess Who's Coming To Breakfast

A/N – Written for my personal Writing Challenge using the pairing Harry/Daphne and Halloween, and for a prompt challenge at nosmutforyou on LJ using the prompts breakfast, wake, and welcome. Thanks to csitokyo3 for his help in editing this thing on short notice. Sometime in November, I'm going to put up another Writing Challenge poll to decide the pairing of my next one-shot. Once the poll goes up, I leave a link in my FF profile.

Disclaimer – J.K.R. owns Harry Potter.

Story 3 – Guess Who's Coming To Breakfast

As he heard his wife rummaging about their bedroom, Harry burrowed deeper under the covers. After having worked long hours over the past few weeks, the last thing he wanted to do was get out of bed any time before noon. But he knew that was impossible; especially considering Halloween was one of the most important holidays on the Wizarding calendar.

"Get out of bed, Harry," Daphne's voice rang through the sheets.

Rolling her eyes as the only response she got was a tired groan, she continued about her morning ritual. _Stupid boy._

She knew that Harry wouldn't really wake up until the last minute, or until she ran out of patience. What aggravate her even more, is she wanted nothing more than to crawl under those covers and join him. _The curses of being a woman_, she thought as she headed for their bathroom and a bath.

He sighed softly, hearing his wife's footsteps fade away. Harry knew he had to wake up and get going, but the last thing he wanted to do was to go to some stuffy family event. Especially seeing as they also had the Ministry gala this evening. Sighing softly, he tried to figure out which one he was dreading more. _Aren't holidays supposed to be fun?_

Lately, these were the moments that he wished he had had a normal life. While with his money and fame, he could now do almost anything he wished, the thing he wished for most was a normal life. He wanted to spend his Halloween like most wizards and witches would be today. Getting to sleep in, not having to go in to work, enjoy the day with friends and family that he actually liked, and the large traditional dinner, especially when prepared by Mrs. Weasley. He'd even enjoy the Muggle side of the holiday; candy, children dressing up in costumers, trick-or-treating, and the candy. Another thing he had missed out on with his wonderful childhood.

Rolling over to his other side, he was slowly starting to drift back to sleep when the covers were torn off him, and the mattress tilted upwards, tossing him off the bed. Scrambling to his feet, Harry stood up and looked across the room.

Standing there, his wife scowling at him with her arms folded across her chest, clad in a robe with her hair wrapped in a towel. If he didn't know better, he would say he was in trouble. But having spent the past three years with the woman, he could read her better than that. The way her eyes were practically sparkling with mischief, told him that the way she had chosen to wake him up was partly a means to an end, but a means she had wholly enjoyed.

"I told you to wake up and get out of bed."

Harry smirked at her. "You're just mad because it takes me barely 10 minuets to get ready, and it takes you-"

"How long?"

Realizing he was entering dangerous territory, he simply grinned. "Long enough to be perfect."

"Very good, Mr. Potter. At least some of what I'm trying to teach you is sinking in."

"My teacher has some very _persuasive_ methods," Harry said as he moved around the bed and approached her.

Daphne rolled her eyes again, but smirked. "Too bad you have to get ready," she told him, to the effect of throwing a bucket of ice water over him.

"Why do we have to go?" Harry whined.

"Halloween breakfast is an old tradition with my family. I remember going to my Grandmother's ever since I was a little girl."

As he passed her on his way to the bathroom, he fixed her with a look. "And didn't you call the woman a wicked old hag."

"I never said I _enjoyed_ spending time with my grandmother," Daphne said sarcastically. "But that's what family is, having to spend time with people who you hate."

"Sounds wonderful."

"Family gatherings usually are," Daphne muttered to herself as she headed for her closet. For old blood families, family gatherings were a time to show off and brag, and to reinforce that you were the most successful one in the family.

This was an idea that was whetting the appetite of Artemis Greegrass, Daphne's father, as he sat a few hours later in the parlor of his mother's home. The middle child of six, he was often overshadowed by his siblings. But that certainly changed last Christmas. For so many reasons, there's nothing quite like informing the family that your eldest daughter is betrothed to the _savior_ of the Wizarding World.

Again this year, he felt he had the upper hand. There was another marriage to announce, this time his youngest daughter, Astoria. The Greengrasses would be welcoming another of Britain's Wizarding Elite to the family.

As Artemis smiled politely as he listened to one of his sisters drone on about something or another one of their children had accomplished, he made sure to keep an eye out for Daphne's arrival. He eagerly awaited his daughter's arrival for two reasons. The first, of course, to inform her of her sister's engagement. The second, to prepare her. While the rest of the family was sure to welcome his new son in-law with open arms, he wasn't so sure how well his current son in-law would take it.

A sudden burst of chatter from the parlor's main fireplace alerted Artemis to someone's arrival. Glancing over, he felt proud as he watched Daphne parry their relatives away from Harry.

"Excuse me," Artemis finally interrupted his sister. "Daphne has just arrived," and with a small bow of the head, he left his sister and moved to intercept his daughter.

"Father," Daphne greeted with a small smile and polite hug. While Daphne got along with her family better then most of her old blood counterparts, it was their etiquette to be guarded and less expressive when out in public, even amongst family.

"Daphne, Harry," he greeted in return, and linked her arm through his. With Harry following them closely, he led his daughter out of the parlor and to a large study.

"Have you spoken to your sister?"

Keeping a serene expression, though the two men noticed the corner's of her mouth twitch a bit in a scowl, "Not recently, no."

Daphne and Astoria did not get along well, Daphne felt her sister was too impulsive, outspoken, and did things for the wrong reasons. Astoria was in constant competition with Daphne, even if she didn't want to be. If Daphne earned four O.W.L.s, Astoria had to get five. After a while, Daphne became fed up with the competition she never wanted, and kept contact with her little sister to a minimum since leaving Hogwarts.

"Why? What has my darling sister done now?" Daphne asked, barely able to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"She is about to become the hit of the party," Artemis bragged. Like so many fathers, and sometimes mothers, he was somewhat oblivious of the degraded relationship his daughters shared with each other.

"What has she done now?" Daphne drawled.

"She's become engaged to a rather prominent wizard. Though his name as been tarnished with the unfortunate business of the past, his family is still within good standing."

_Why am I not surprised? Once again, she just has to one up me. I get married, so now she has to. She's not even ready to have a real relationship with anyone, much less get married. How could that fool do something so stupid? Well, you know what; I'm done putting out her fires. If she wants to get married, fine._

Daphne glanced at Harry, who had begun to pace a little. Even though he hid it well, pretending to browse the collection of books in the room, she knew he knew what her father meant. That their future brother in-law had some kind of Death Eater ties.

"Well, good for her then," Daphne said while walking to quickly collect Harry. "We're going to return to the party," she said as she began to pull Harry towards the door.

"Don't you want to know to whom?" Artemis called after them.

"Not really," Daphne answered back dismissively from the hallway.

As she led him, Harry could tell Daphne was upset. While she had a placid expression on, if the way her grip was tightening around his forearm was any sort of clue, she was pissed off.

"Daphne," Harry said softly as she paused to swipe a drink off of one of the waiter's trays. "Either tell me what's wrong or let go off my wrist before you break it."

Daphne glared at him out of the corner of her eyes, but let go of him as she gulped half of the wine glass's contents. "Stupid little girl," she muttered.

While he knew that Daphne wasn't best friends with her sister, he never knew their sibling rivalry was so intense. "So your sister is getting married. What's the problem?" Harry assumed it was the type of person she was marrying; he had no clue that that barely scraped the surface.

"The only reason she's getting married is to try and show me up," she told Harry, and sighed a little at Harry's confused expression. _Lucky bastard. An only child, and even if he hadn't been, wouldn't have had to put up with the old ways._

"I married you; she saw the circus that was our wedding, and now she wants to be the main attraction of her own. She sees the money, power, admiration. I didn't marry you just because of all that."

"Well, that's nice to know," Harry interrupted sarcastically.

Daphne glared at him for a moment, before giving him a small grin. "I was lucky, women of my… background, usually aren't. Even if she wasn't getting married for all the wrong reasons, she's far too immature to even be thinking about such things."

"It's funny. Hearing you talk just now. You certainly don't talk like a typical stuffed robe, old blood."

She snickered after thinking about what she had just said. "Bad influences in my life. They've got my priorities all screwed up," she teased him. "I'm going to have to blackmail someone tonight."

Harry just rolled his eyes as Daphne giggled quietly to herself. Their conversation was quickly interrupted by the fireplace roaring back to life, and followed by the sound of someone clinking a wine glass for attention.

"May I have your attention," Artemis' voice rang out. Once the conversation had quieted down a bit, he continued. "Before our beloved Matriarch of the noblest Greengrass family, I would like to formally announce the engagement of my second daughter, Astoria Aurora."

As other family members gave their congratulations, Harry glanced over at Daphne. He tried not to snicker at his wife's annoyed expression.

"Just like my first daughter, Daphne," Artemis continued, and raised his glass in his eldest's direction. "Astoria has won the heart of another noble wizard."

By now, Harry was trying not to laugh at the spectacle. Daphne was irritated, Artemis seemed to be going overboard with his speech, and he had seen more sincere people at his trial in the Ministry back in fifth year. Then, came the important piece of information, and it became much less funny.

"May I introduce, Astoria's wonderful fiancé-"

"Malfoy," Harry growled through clenched teeth. Just as Artemis was introducing the couple, the crowd parted, giving Harry a view of Astoria and the pale skin, white blonde hair of her fiancé, Draco Malfoy.

Daphne felt Harry's body practically seize up with tension, and looking back at him, she could tell he was not happy. The back-story of Harry and Draco was well known. For a time, Draco fashioned himself Harry's rival, when in truth he never measured up. Years later, Daphne learned that Draco was more a nuisance then anything to Harry. Like a fly constantly buzzing around your head.

What brought such a fierce reaction from Harry this morning was how the Malfoys got away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist after the war. He felt they should be granted some leniency, after all. If Narcissa hadn't lied and said he was dead, things would be vastly different. But when he learned of the full pardon given to them, he was less than pleased.

"Harry?" Daphne asked cautiously, noting the same look that had just been on her face was now on his.

Harry watched as Draco's eyes swept across the room dismissively, then Draco spotted him. It came as no surprise that he wasn't surprised to see Harry here, but Harry took a small bit of pleasure in seeing fear in Draco's eyes, if only for a split second before the mask was placed back on.

Not one to normally drink at breakfast, Harry snatched a flute of champagne from the waiter's tray and downed it in one gulp. As he grimaced while the vile liquid slid down his throat, Daphne gently tugged on his arm to get his attention.

While sipping her own flute, she took a quick look around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "Harry, as much as I would love to see you wipe that smug grin off that ferret's face, I'm asking you to not do anything rash. Don't let him get under your skin. You said it yourself, there's no rivalry. It's just like those Ministry parties; if the idiot should choose to talk, let him talk himself into trouble." Daphne then let a hand slip across Harry's waist. "And, if you play nice with him, I just may let you play nice with me later."

Harry cleared his throat as he tried to pull his thoughts back together from all different directions. "It's in the past. If he wants to fight old battles, let him."

Daphne smiled a little, even though she knew it was going to be harder to do than to say. As most of the crowd was still focused on the new couple, Daphne took it as her opportunity to step out. Grasping her husband's hand in her own, she led them back out of the parlor for some air.

After a hour or two of inane conversations, mindless chit-chat, and other boring things, Harry was itching to leave. He'd never thought he would ever discover something as bad as a Ministry event, but these family get-togethers were miserable. Most of the Greengrass family was true to old blood stereotype; stuck up, prejudiced, elitist, and manipulative. Everything Harry hated, regardless of it being Wizarding or Muggle.

Taking a drink from his glass, he felt a little exposed without Daphne near by. He could handle the crowd by himself, but he didn't like to. He would much rather just ignore them all, but there was no way he could do that. Plus, he was a little jealous of how effortless Daphne made it seem.

Glancing about, he happily noted that those around him were lost in their own conversations. At the moment at least, he could enjoy a little peace.

Looking about the room, he felt weird at the lack of decorations. Halloween was one of the biggest holidays in their world, and beyond a few floating candles and small jack-o-lanterns about the place, it would be hard to tell this was any other day. He wasn't looking for anything lavish; he even felt the Ministry went too over the top. But, he'd like to see something. _It's more fun causing havoc with props around_, Harry thought to himself sarcastically. He snickered to himself, remembering one particular Halloween prank. At the last Halloween Gala the Ministry held, he caused a floating jack-o-lantern to implode, dumping the messy debris all over a pompous windbag who had been annoying him earlier.

As Harry turned around, he bumped into another man turning the other way. He knew within seconds who he had bumped into.

"You troll. This is pure silk."

Harry's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "What was that Malfoy?"

Draco's head practically whipped upwards at the sound of Harry's voice. "Potter."

"Malfoy," Harry mocked.

Once again, fear showed on his face, not sure how Harry would react, but it was quickly hidden behind the all too familiar sneer. "Going to welcome me to the family, Potter?"

For a brief moment, Harry wanted to go into the old routine, were the two would fire sarcastic remarks back and forth, as it slowly became heated and they would like draw wands. But then, he remembered that even back then, Malfoy was nothing. So one question came to his mind, _Why am I going to play these old, stupid games?_

Instead, he choose another tactic that had served him well, a very dark sense of humor. "Not really," Harry finally said. "Though, I'm not sure which one to feel more sorry for, you or Astoria."

Draco bristled, and would've loved nothing more than to knock the smirk off his face. But deep down, Draco knew if he even tried anything, Harry would quickly counter anything he threw at him. Just as Draco opened his mouth to snap back, they were joined by the Greengrass sisters.

"Isn't this wonderful, Daph," Astoria practically cooed as she wrapped her arm around Draco's and snuggled close. "We'll both be married now, and to such great and powerful wizards."

Hearing Harry snort, Daphne took her black stiletto heel, and stepped on Harry's foot before he could say anything. While he was trying to ignore the pain in his foot, Daphne tried hard not to roll her eyes or sound too condescending to her younger sister. "There are more important things that a witch should marry for other the name and power."

"Like what?" Astoria questioned, as she gazed up at Draco.

"Well… love," Daphne answered, saying the first thing that came in to her head. She wasn't surprised that Draco and Astoria practically laughed in her face. A loving marriage wasn't too common among the old bloods, at least a love that went deeper than aesthetic things.

"Well, love doesn't get you a honeymoon in the South Pacific, does it?" Astoria asked rhetorically, once again bragging about where the couple was going on their honeymoon.

"Or a country estate," Draco added. "You should come by and see the place, Potter. I'd imagine we could fit your little flat inside, tenfold."

Daphne glanced at Harry, and was happy to see the placid look on Harry's face. He wasn't rising to the bait. The little flat Draco mentioned was a little small than she was normally accustomed too, but you got what you could get in the heart of London with a great view.

"Here's my new _happy_ family," Artemis announced as he and Rhea, Daphne and Astoria's mother, joined the group.

"The heavens have definitely shown our family favor," Rhea said. "Especially to bring such wonderful men to our daughters."

"Come, come," Artemis motioned everyone towards the exit. "It's time for breakfast, and we must properly ask mother for Astoria's hand in marriage," he explained as he draped an arm around Draco's shoulder. "Now, Draco, when everything is settled, come see me. There's some business we need to discuss."

As the two men walked away discussing politics and money, closely followed by Rhea and Astoria, discussing the wedding, Daphne snagged Harry's arm and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I hate you," she said teasingly.

"Why?"

Slipping her arm around his, like a snake coiling around its prey, "For making me grounded, and opening me up to different things. It's your fault I'm become more opened minded."

As they walked, the pair snickered at each other. "Oh, like you're not corrupting me."

"And you're not enjoying every minute of it?" Daphne laughed harder as Harry gave her a wide grin and shrug. _Let Astoria have her fame, power, and money. She'll learn that's not enough to make you happy. I guess I was lucky. I ended up more interested in the goof that is Harry, and not the legend of the slayer of Voldemort._

"So what exactly do you serve at these breakfasts?" Harry asked, drawing her out of her thoughts.

Smirking, _always thinking with his stomach._ "Now what fun would that be if I told you?"


End file.
